Twenty-one years ago, the New England Patriots completed the most dominant streak in the history of the NFL, finishing with 21 wins in a row across two seasons. Since it was such a dominant run, we have decided to take a look back at each one of the games.
This is the second in the series, so expect a ton more to come, and make sure to follow along on YouTube for the accompanying videos for each game as well.
Today, let’s take a look at Wins No. 3 and 4.
Win No. 3: Patriots 19, Dolphins 13 (OT)
2003 Week 7 | Oct. 19, 2003, 1 p.m. ET | Pro Player Stadium
Setting the scene: On a hot Sunday in South Florida, the Patriots and Miami Dolphins would face off with first place in the AFC East on the line.
This was a loaded Dolphins defense featuring the likes of Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and Junior Seau, with Pro Bowlers like Patrick Surtain, Sammy Knight, Sam Madison, and Adewale Ogunleye in the mix as well. Super Bowl XXXVI champion Terrell Buckley also featured at nickel back for them. On offense, running back Ricky Williams was the guy.
Miami entered Week 7 having won four consecutive games following a Week 1 loss. The Dolphins allowed 10 or fewer points in all four wins behind head coach Dave Wannstedt, and they were favored to beat the Patriots by 6.5 points.
The Patriots took the field that Sunday having lost all 13 games in Miami in September or October in franchise history, and they were going to try to end that streak without players like Ty Law and Willie McGinest. They would also be trying to end the streak on a non-traditional playing surface; with the then Florida Marlins set to host the New York Yankees in the World Series the following Tuesday, the dirt infield occupied much of the left side of the field.
Game breakdown: The early stages of this one would be defined by mistakes. On their second possession, Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler was intercepted by Eugene Wilson after fellow rookie Asante Samuel deflected a pass. On their third possession, Tyrone Poole held up receiver Chris Chambers after a completion so Tedy Bruschi could come punch the ball out. Rodney Harrison recovered, and the Patriots would turn it into three points.
As the game moved into the second quarter, the bounces began to go Miami’s way. Tom Brady lost the ball on a 3rd-and-3 quick sneak, and Jay Fiedler turned that into a touchdown threading a needle between Poole and Chris Akins to find Chris Chambers. Two plays later, Kevin Faulk put the ball on the turf where it was recovered by Larry Chester. The Dolphins appeared to score on the next play, but wide receiver Derrius Thompson’s knee came down on the reception moving the Dolphins back to the 22-yard line. The Dolphins would settle for a field goal and a 10-3 lead.
With a 33-yard kickoff return from Bethel Johnson, roughing the passer penalty on Jason Taylor, and 19-yard completion form Brady to Troy Brown, New England drove down to the goal line in the final minute of the first half. Brady would find Christian Fauria for a touchdown, but it was called back due to offensive pass interference on offensive tackle Tom Ashworth. The Patriots would kick a field goal and go into the half down 10-6.
The second half of this game was defined by a pair of long, clock-killing drives. After the Dolphins extended their lead to 13-6 with tight end Randy McMichael creating two big plays to get them in field goal range, Brady led one in the third quarter to tie the game. Going 76 yards in 14 plays while taking nearly eight minutes off the clock, the Patriots went 4-for-4 on third down on the touchdown drive. Brady connected with Deion Branch to move the chains on 3rd and 6 from just outside field goal range, finding his sophomore receiver while being sacked by two Dolphins. On the next set of downs, he hit David Givens over the middle for a 24-yard score on 3rd-and-10, with Givens taking a massive hit after the catch and then falling backwards into the end zone on the dirt infield.
After a flurry of three-and-outs, the Dolphins would dominate the fourth quarter with a 16-play, 73-yard drive that took more than nine minutes off the clock. Randy McMichael burned both Roman Phifer and Rodney Harrison on this drive, recording three receptions for 39 yards. Ricky Williams then managed to stay up on a 3rd and 9 run that moved the chains and put Miami firmly in kicker Olindo Mare’s range to put the Dolphins on top at the two-minute warning. Richard Seymour had other plans. The Hall of Fame defensive tackle pushed back Miami’s line and blocked Mare’s 35-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime.
Things began to escalate immediately in the additional frame. Miami won the coin toss despite fervent objections from Brady and Larry Izzo about whether the coin had landed on heads or tails.
On the second play of overtime, the Dolphins got another favorable call. Derrius Thompson stepped out of bounds while running his route and then came down out of bounds after collecting a pass from Fiedler, but that didn’t stop the officials from ruling it a 31-yard completion. Four Ricky Williams carries later, and the Dolphins were right back where they were at the end of regulation. This time, Mare’s 35-yard field goal attempt from the infield got through the line of scrimmage unscathed. It also missed wide right.
The Patriots moved the ball near midfield on the following drive, but Brady was strip-sacked by Jason Taylor on third down and the team was forced to punt. The team would get the ball back quickly after Poole intercepted Fielder on a 3rd-and-12. Brady would end it on the next play.
Backed up at their own 18-yard line, Brady dropped back, shuffled to his left, and uncorked one to Troy Brown streaking behind the defense. He hit Brown perfectly in stride, and he took it the distance to give the Patriots the win. Pandemonium ensued, with Bill Belichick famously tossing his headset in the air in celebration. To this day, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him happier.
With the win the Patriots were now in first place in the AFC East. They would remain there for the rest of the season.
Game highlights:
Other game notes: For some reason, the Patriots ran QB sneaks with Brady on 3rd-and-3 or longer three different times. One run came up short, one ended with a fumble, and one moved the chains on that tying drive in the third quarter. I did not expect to see so many designed runs for Brady, so Charlie Weis must have seen something in that Miami front he thought was worth attacking in those situations.
The officiating in this one was suspect throughout, with the Patriots getting some help on the Chambers fumble when the refs should have whistled the play dead with his forward progress stopped before the fumble. Add on the controversial coin toss and the blown call on the completion in overtime, and one wonders how a game like this would have been treated in the social media era.
Elsewhere in sports: In the pregame show (one that featured Deion Sanders as an analyst), the two lead games on the day were in Carolina and Minnesota. The undefeated Panthers were hosting the 4-2 Tennessee Titans in what was expected to be the game of the day, but it quickly turned into a blowout as the Titans used a 50-yard fake punt touchdown pass from Billy Volek to race out to a 20-0 lead. Tennessee would eventually win 37-17, handing the Panthers their first loss of the season.
The other game of the day was with the undefeated Vikings hosting the 5-1 Denver Broncos. During the halftime show, the broadcast showed first half highlights for what was then a 7-7 game before cutting live to the final play of the half. Fifty-nine yards from the endzone, Duante Culpepper heaved up a Hail Mary that was caught by Randy Moss well short of the end zone. Moss appeared to be tackled to end the half, but while going to the turf, he lateraled the ball to running back Moe Williams who ran past stunned defenders for the score. Getting to hear the live reaction in the studio to this play was incredible. Minnesota would go on to win 28-20, improving to 6-0.
Win No. 4: Patriots 9, Browns 3
2003 Week 8 | Oct. 26, 2003, 1 p.m. ET | Gillette Stadium
Setting the scene: The Patriots, winners of three straight and coming off their thrilling win in Miami, welcomed Tim Couch and the Cleveland Browns to Foxborough in Week 8. The Browns came into the game at 3-4, so they weren't a great football team, but they also had made the playoffs the previous season, and had lost on a last-minute touchdown to the Steelers.
When you think of the Browns, you think of a bad team, but they had obviously had some success the year before, and also had beaten the Steelers, the 49ers, and the defending AFC Champion Raiders already this season. The Patriots were favored in this game, but there was some optimism surrounding the Browns, even though there were some serious question marks about whether or not Couch could be a good NFL quarterback.
Game breakdown: The Patriots kicked a field goal on their first offensive possession of the game, thanks almost exclusively to a 45-yard pass to Bethel Johnson, but no offense was able to do much of anything the rest of the first half, until the end of the second quarter.
The Patriots were driving and had the ball at the 19-yard line, but a sack and a false start by Dan Koppen on a field goal attempt pushed the try back to 48 yards, and Adam Vinatieri missed the kick. The Browns took advantage, driving down and kicking a field goal to tie the game at the half.
The Patriots would start the second half off with big plays as well. The first drive started with a 26-yard pass to Kevin Faulk, but the series eventually stalled and the Patriots had to punt. The second drive started with a 38-yard pass to Daniel Graham, and ended with the Patriots kicking a field goal; Graham would finish with 7 receptions for 110 yards, which would earn him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Browns, meanwhile, didn’t cross midfield in the second half. The game ended up being on the most lopsided 9-3 victories you’ll ever see, as the game, which was sealed by a Ty Law interception, never felt like it was in danger of slipping away from the Patriots.
Game highlights:
Other game notes: One quick personal note: I was on the field helping out someone who was working for the team for this game, and if you watch the Ty Law interception to seal the game, you can see my lower half doing the absolute best I can to resist celebrating and staying professional.
Daniel Graham had an incredible game with 110 yards receiving. He only surpassed 100 yards in a game one other time in his career, when he caught five passes for 119 yards against the Falcons in 2005. That game that saw him catch a 45-yard touchdown on a screen pass (the play was highlighted by a great block by Stephen Neal, and a few broken tackles by Graham) and another 45-yarder on a drive that ended with the other Patriots tight end, Benjamin Watson, grabbing his first career touchdown.
Elsewhere in sports: The 2003 World Series ended the day before this game was played, with Josh Beckett pitching a complete game shutout in the Bronx to earn himself World Series MVP. The Red Sox may have lost to the Yankees in the ALCS, but at least they didn’t have to watch them celebrate a World Series championship.
It was a fairly nondescript week across the NFL, but there was an interesting score in one of the games. The only game to ever finish 38-5 was played by the Chiefs and the Bills on Sunday Night Football, and the Bills even started with the lead at 2-0, after blocking a punt out of the end zone on the Chiefs first drive. The Bills would go into Arrowhead at 4-3, including a beatdown of the Patriots in Week 1, and the Chiefs stood as the last undefeated team; they would remain unbeaten until a Week 11 loss to the Bengals. The Chiefs, however, wouldn’t win a playoff game, losing to the Colts in the first round while not being able to force a punt all game... in the biz, we call that foreshadowing.